Automatic metal feeder



l 1 u, o 5 n 5.. e.. l u e 2 u D4 E2 Umm.. www... Umm T TMm Rm... UF BAAug. 18, 1925.

Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

P AfriEfNfr ti-Fries.

.BENJAMIN-n. yTURNIERSiting);itc-initieel*iIi.. IIIGGINBOTHAM,onnonromx, VIRGINIA,

nnssIernons!l onw'nwoinreiirns, 'ro o. Is. Benner NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

ATOMII iitii'rnn FEEDER.

'T10' llllwtomftt may concern( 1t yli'noivn that five, vBienJAMIN TURNERIand *Ronnn'ri Il. HIGJGINBOTHAM, citi- 'izens df the Unit'eddStati-es,residing aat Nor- 5 follg in the county of Norfolk yand vStatefotVirginia,l have invented' certain new and' useful* rovement's inAutoinaticilvfetal Fee'ders, of :wvhich the "following is aspecification, referencebeingfliad'therein to theaccOinpanyingdravviIl-g.

The present invention relates to lautomatie 1feeders for melting pots',`especially those Vvnsed lon typeoasting machines, and the; inventionaims'to provide an aftitomatic feeding -"device which issim'pleinconstrucltion and strain.

Affurlther objectV 'the Iprovision 'of "subh Aa device 'comprisinganovel construction 30 *and' arrangement. of the component elementsoenhan'ce the utility and tiiciencyfot the deviceA"YVithftheforegoingand other objects lin View, which ivill 'belappz'uent vas "the"descrip- I'tion' proceeds, the invention resides inthe construction and `arran-gement' "of parts, as "hereinafterdescribedjand claimed, jity being -`understood 'that' changes can 'be'fmade `Within the "scope of -vvhat fis claimed', withoutr`departing'from the spiritot'the invention The invent-ion isillustrated iny `thefacc'o'mi' panying ldrawings, wherein- "Figurel' is'a' y'side elevation theiniany Vportion thereof when the piggravi- Itatesin the guide l1.

vprovedf device das 'iiistalleohv showing the metal meltingpot `andother l'portions'in section.

"'FigL '2 is ua 'vertical sectionon. 'the line 2 2 "flFi`g. 1.

is` ay horizontal :section4 'on theJ :line of Fig, l.

x"Fighe isa'fragmentar'y plan' View of the adjustable Vsupporting'*Ineans.

vFig. 5s is a sectionaldetail on the linel Iin the pot. Thedog 23 1s ofU- shape so ,as

s The 'automatic'feedingfdevice is shown fas 'Used in connectionivithEthe metal melting by the block.

"to the frame. of themachine so l'as' pot'of excessive Weight andpot/'10, of a typecastin'g machine, although the device can be used inconnection vvith the melting pots of other machines foriv'hich thedevice is suitable, especially if the spot hes -areciprocatory motion. 4

A vertical guide 11x preferably of Atubular form, is supported aboveth'epot`l`05for the downward movement therein by gravity 'of the pigs 12 ofmetal or other material to; be "delivered tothe pot for maintaining thelevel of molten metal Vorinaterial in the pot. Said pigs vare preferablyof cylindrical form, and ymay be oi' any suitable dimensions.

The guide'll is supported from the frame or body ofthe machine. Thus,said giiiole 1 1 is formed with a laterally projecting bracket 13extending slidably through a `blocl`l4 and secured in adjusted positionin sai'dblock by means of a set screw4 l5 carried v `Said blo'ck`l4 isslidable vertically on a postl voit a'base clamp 17 that oii,g;ig'es amember 180i the frame, and vthe clamp `has a set screw' 19 to securesaid clamp secured tothe :trame of the machine, 'for 'supporting theblock 14 inthe desired Vertical position, said block haying a set screw2'0 vfor kclamping the block on the post. When the set screw l5? isloosened `the bracket 13 can beslidhorizontarlly in the block let.

lThe several adjustments 'enable'the guide' ll to be properly positionedover the pot 1 0 lso as not tointerere AWith the yreciprocatory motionof;tlie, pot yorany ofthe working parts. v

The lower; end 'of the guidel ll terminates above the molten material inthel pot-,ibut said yguide'hasa tongue 21 projecting downivardlytherefrom into theV moltenmateiial in: the pot and vprovided Withaninivardly extending stop 22 to limiet-he vdownward movement of the piginto the potsoas `to prevent vthe Ypig from striking the pot or A vdogor. catch 123 is providedtojgrip tthe pig vand `vsupport the lowerportion of thepig Which-is sub- `merged in the molten `material'inthepot is tost-reddle the pig opposite', to the tongue r42'15Iv'ith theterminals of 'saiddog extended Aitfin the guide ivhile The post l'G'isvthus rigidly upwardly, as at 24, and pivoted, as at 25, to a lug 26with which the guide 11 is provided at one side near its lower end. Thebend or loop of the dog 23 has a sharp edge 27 to bite fthe pig oppositeto the tongue 21, and an arm 28 projecting` from the dog is pivotallyconnected, as at 29, to the lower terminal oi' a vertical rod 30 whichhas its upper terminal slidable through an apertured lug 31 projectingfrom the guide 11. A coil spring 32 surrounds the rod and is coniinedetween the lug 31 and a collar 33 secured on the red, whereby said sring forcibly wings the dog or catch 23 downwardly to grip or clamp the.pig 12 against the tongue 21.

rTripping means is provided Ytor raising the rod 30 and dog 23 so toremove tne biting edge 27 from the pig, in order that the pig can slidedownwardly by gravity until it strilres the stop 22. Thus, a rocksha-'rt 34 ,is journaled in lugs 35 projecting from the guide 11 belowthe llug 2l, and a slotted. arm or tappet 36 is secured on the shatt 34between the lugs 35 and st-raddles the rod 30 immediately below thecollar The butt end 37 of the arm 36 is Arormed to abut the guide 11 andlimit the downward swinging movement ot said arm, although the arm canswing upwardly to raise the collar 33 and rod 30. A pin or arm 3S issecured to one termina-l oit the shaft 34 and is connected by a lightcoiled s aring 39 with the bracket 13, to hold the arm 36 yieldingly inits lowermost position. A downwardly extending arm 40 is secured to theopposite terminal of the shaft 34 and has an outstanding point-ed lug 41for the engagement of the tripper 42.

rThe tripper 42 has a lower notch 43 near its tree end forming a hooi;or abutment 44 to engage over the upper sharp end et the lug 41 of thetrip arm 40. The tripper 42 is pivoted, as `iat 45, on an angularsupporting member 46 secured on the jacket ot the pot 10, as clearlyseen in Fig. 1. A hollow metal float 47 is disposed within the pot tofloat on the molt-en material, and is screwthreaded on the lowerterminal of a rod 48 that slides through apertured ears 49 projectingfrom the member 46. An adjusting cap 50 is screw threaded on the upperterminal of the rod 48, and carries a set seiew 51 to maintain theadjustment. The tripper 42 rests on the cap 50, so that the tripper israised and lowered with the float 47 that rises and lowers with thelevel of the molten material in the pot.

Then the pot 1() reciprocates in the horizontal direction as usual, themember 46 moves with the pot, so that the iioat 47 and tripper 42 alsomove with the pot. The Jfree terminal of the tripper 42 is moved overthe lug 41 and retracted by the back and forth movement of the pot, andit will be noted that the guide 11 and pig or pigs therein are supported:trom the trame orl the machine, so as not to burden the pot 10 withadditional weight or strain, the member 46, float 47, tripper 42 andcorresponding parts being light in weight and being the only parts ot'the device which are mounted to move with the pot.

In operation, when the level et the molten material in the pot islowered by the discharge of material from the pot, the tloat 47 movesdownwardly accordingly, thereby permitting` the tripper 42 to swingdownwardly. Then as the pot reciprooates should the tripper` 42 movedownwardly suiiiciently the hook or abutment 44 will engage over the lug41, when the level ot' the material in the pot reaches a predeterminedlow point. During the meantime, the portion of the pig 12 that issubmerged in the molten material in the pot is melted awa-y, so that thelower end of the solid metal is now at the level ot the molten materialiabove the stop TWhen the tripper 42 engages over the lug 4l, asaforesaid, and the pot 10 is returned So as to move the tripper 42 awayfrom the guide 11, the trip arm 40 is swung, inasmuch as the lug 41 ispulled with the hook 44. This will swing the shaft 34 iarnd raise thearm 36. Said arm 36 contacts with and raises the collar 33, therebynaising the rod 30 and dog or catch 23 against the influence of thespring 32. The dog or catch therefore releases the pig or solid metaland such pig will move down by gravity until it strikes the stop 22.This will raise the level of the molten material in the pot., and thefloat 47 being raised will litt the tripper 42 so that it will bedisengaged from the arm 40. Thus, when the tripper 42 is moved with thepot toward the guide 11, the hook 44 will move farther than the lug 41,the movement of the arm 40 being limited by the contact of the arm 36with the guide 11,l as seen in Fig. 5, so that the tripper 42 can bereadily disengaged from the lug 41 under the influence of the float 47.The spring 32 now again depresses the dog or catch 23 so that vit gripsand holds the pig while the portion ot the pig below the level of themolten material is melted away. This operation is repeated whenever thelevel of the molten material in the pot recedes to a predetermined lowlevel, and the supply of solid metal or material is thus automaticallyJfed into the pot, in order to eliminate t-he necessity for manuallyfilling the pot. The only attention required is the` placing 0iE themetal pigs in the guide 11.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new isz- 1. rThecombination with a lixed support and a melting pot having areciprocatory motion relatively to said support, of means 'for guidingsolid material downwardly by gravity into said pot and supported by saidsupport so ars not to move with the pot, means engageable with the solidmaterial to prevent its movement into the pot, the 'solid material beingmovable downwardly by gravity into the pot when the secondnamed means isdisengaged therefrom, a tripper mounted on the pot to move therewith andcooperable with the secondnamed means in a predetermined position of thetripper to operate the'secondnamed means to disengage it from the solidmaterial, and means controlling 'said tripper according` to the level ofthe molten material in the pot.

2. In a device of the character described, a guide for solid material, aU-shaped catch below the lower end of said guide to enga-ge and supportthe material and having its terminals pivotally connected with theguide, and means for swinging 'said catch to engage and disengage thematerial.

3. In a device of the character described, a guide for solid material, acatch to engage and support said material, a slidable rod connected to'said catch, spring means for moving the rod in one direction. to engagethe catch with the material, and actuating means for moving the rod inthe opposite direction to disengage the catch from the material.

4. In a device Vof the character described, a guide for solid material,a catch pivotally connected with the guide and engageable with saidmaterial to support it in the guide, a rod slidably connected with theguide and pivotally connected with said catch, a rocking trip; membercarried by the guide and operably connected with said rod for moving therod t-o release the catch 'from the solid material, and a tripper fortripping said trip member.

5. In a device of the character described, a vertical guide for solidmaterial, a catch to engage the material vat the lower end 0i the guideand pivot-ally connected with the guide, a vertical rod pivotallyconnected with said catch and slidably connected with the guide, a.collar on the rod, a spring for moving saidy rod to engage the catchwith the material, a. rock shaft carried by the guide and having an armto contact with ysaid collar and move the rod to disengage the catchfrom the material, a trip arm carried by said shaft, and a tripperengageable with said trip arm.

G. The combination with a fixed support and a melting pot having areciprocatory motion relatively to 'said support, of means for guidingsolid material downwardly by gravity into said pot and supported by saidsupport to relieve the pot of the weight. of said means and solidmaterial, means engageable with the 'solid material to prevent itsmovement into the pot, the solid material being movable downwardly bygravity into the pot when the secondnamed means is disengaged therefrom,andk means for operating the secondnamed means by the movement oi" thepot and controlled by the level of the molten material in the pot.

In 'testimony whereofy we hereunto affix our signatures.

BENJAMIN R. TURNER. ROBERT L. .I-IIGrGINBO'IHAM`

